Page 907 - Week 03 - Thursday, 10 March 2005
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
materials and internal air quality. Again, as soon as these standards are included in the BCA, the ACT will adopt them. The government is also committed to adopting the green star energy-rating scheme for commercial buildings, and this is something that we will also be moving forward with. The government needs to carefully consider the financial and social impacts of adopting standards that depart from a national framework, and this is something that we will continue to undertake. Obviously in an urban environment there are things that fall outside the scope of the building code. New South Wales has identified many of these things and incorporated them into the BASIX system.
As indicated during the debate on Dr Foskey’s motion on 16 February this year, the ACT Planning and Land Authority, I as the Minister for Planning, and the Planning and Land Council are all closely examining BASIX, along with a range of other tools, to enhance the environmental performance of the building environment. The tools are many and varied and often have been built for different purposes and they are not necessarily compatible. Some, though, like BASIX, include mandatory targets but provide a range of options through which projects and individuals can achieve those targets—so it is the outcomes that are mandatory, not necessarily the way you achieve them. The adoption of a tool such as BASIX is something the government has under close consideration. Whatever tool is adopted—whether it is BASIX or something else—will need to be applied in a way that does not compromise the building code or complicate the planning system. I am sure that this is something we can achieve. It will also need to produce clear sustainability dividends in a manner that is cost effective to the community, to industry and to government. This is particularly important in the context of housing affordability. The best systems for achieving sustainability in the urban environment will include options and elements of choice. Benchmarks will also have their place, and this will be dealt with by the government in the context of our broader reform of the planning system.
I mentioned before housing affordability. This is important in the context of social justice and the ability of all people to participate as citizens in our community. To illustrate a point, the targets in BASIX, for example, have added an additional $8,000 to $9,000 to the cost of the average dwelling. This is a significant up-front cost that can be recouped over following years through combined water and energy savings. The government does not necessarily shy away from increased up-front costs if there are significant savings for the individual householder, the community and our environment down the track, but we believe it must be acknowledged upfront as an issue and addressed appropriately.
Other issues that need to be examined in detail are whether we need to make these targets or benchmarks compulsory. Industry will tell us that they are already including measures to enhance the sustainability of the built environment on a voluntary basis. The increasing adoption of voluntary green star assessments in commercial buildings is evidence of this. In my view, however, the building industry is a very conservative industry and needs a mixture of incentive and mandatory requirements to see the outcomes we need put into effect.
As I have already indicated, the ACT Planning and Land Authority are undertaking these investigations and will be making recommendations to the government shortly, in particular around the adoption of a scheme such as BASIX. Whether these recommendations include the need to introduce mandatory targets or benchmarks is
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .